Party Archives - Twitchetts

How to Throw a Successful Kids’ Birthday Party at Home!

Susie — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:50:29 +0000

Over the years we have thrown some epic kids’ birthday parties! With each party, we learned a thing or two about how to throw a successful party at home. We have tons of creative DIY ideas to make your party decorations and activities budget-friendly. Tasty food, drink, and dessert inspiration. And some unique birthday party activities that will have your guests raving about how much fun they had!

Our best tips for planning and throwing a successful kids’ birthday party at home.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

Keys to Achieve a Successful Kids’ Party

An Epic Activity. We don’t want a bunch of bored kids…
Delicious Snacks. Every party needs some munchies!
Creative Party Favors. Did they leave with something they will use/want?
Flow. Did those kids have fun from start to finish?
The Perfect Theme. This pulls it all together!

Your party doesn’t have to break the bank to achieve all of these things! The best parties we have thrown over the years were very budget-friendly. We have lots of low-budget yet big impact ideas to share with you!

Tips to Throw a Kid’s Birthday Party at Home

The first thing you need when planning any kids’ birthday party is to pick a theme. It can be anything! We have all of our parties listed below to get you inspired! Then you need to get planning… there is nothing worse than everything landing on your plate at the last minute. If you are going to make your at-home party budget-friendly that is going to come with a bit of DIY. So planning ahead to is a must!

Birthday Party Activities

Take it up a Notch. To make a party successful you want to do things they love, but find a way to make it epic. If your kid’s favorite thing right now is bubbles then get everyone around blowing bubbles! Take dressing up like a princess to the next level by creating a giant princess castle to play in. Maybe some quick no-sew costumes for them to play their favorite characters. Bring that theme to life!

Party Food Ideas

Feed the Kids. Start with what your kid would want to eat and then grow your menu around that. If their favorite food right now is box Mac and Cheese it’s OK to serve that! Maybe you can find a fun shape that goes with your theme.

Drink Stations. You can work a theme into your drink station by letting your kid pick flavors. Pick your pink lemonade or mix your moo. You can also add DIY-themed cups. We made ours for Minecraft with a template. Putting stickers on paper cups is fast and cheaper than buying themed cups.

Quick Printables Ideas. Find your characters online to create signs, decorated skewers, or even cupcake toppers for your food table. Print on thick cardstock at home or order online at a local Staples/Office Max.

We are always our own worst critics! Fancy cakes are expensive! If you aren’t the best cake decorator that doesn’t matter. Adding a theme to a cake can be as simple as a couple of figurines or printables on cake-pop sticks. Your child will be happy to keep those decorations to play with later!

Working in your Party Theme

Favors can be used during the party! Have the party favors be props for your main activity or part of your decorations! This gives them 2 uses and helps the party’s memory live on long after it’s over.

Easy Themed Food. With access to the internet, you can print off (or order prints) of just about anything for your party. Adding characters to the ends of toothpicks or cake pop sticks is a fast, and affordable, way to add your party theme in another place for next to nothing.

Stuff balloons with little toys. It’s a 2-man job, but you can add candy, toys, bracelets, and more themed prizes into balloons before blowing them up. It’s the excitement of a piñata for each kid! They can pop a balloon at the end of a Justin Time adventure. Use a sword to pop the balloon spider in a real-life game of Minecraft. We even had balloons at the end of our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle training! Keep a few baggies with the toys to the side for any child who is too scared to pop a balloon.

Buy plastic tablecloths. They can be used for so many things!! The floor or doors to a castle. Dragon wings, curtains, giant arrows, obviously tables… They are cheap and big which is a win-win!

Birthday Party Flow

Move things around. When throwing a birthday party at home you may need to do a bit of rearranging. Weather permitting you can work with inside and out, but that isn’t always the case.

Think about how you want people to flow through your house and if you want to block anything off. We put post-it notes with giant Xs on the bedroom doors and any other “off-limit” spaces. A strategically placed table can block off a whole section of your house or at least keep the kids from running in circles… You may want to move your table up against a wall to allow people to walk around more freely. Get those extra chairs placed where people can relax (out of the way) and see what’s going on.

Create a Timeline. Have something for guests to do when they arrive. You don’t want everyone waiting around for the last person to show up. This can be something simple or part of your main activity later. Like coloring jerseys for a scoreboard. Or having a photo-op in a summer selfie booth.

Plan Ahead. The biggest tip I have for having a successful party is to get organized, plan ahead, & break things apart. On the day of the party no one knows what you didn’t do… so give yourself some grace and enjoy the day!

Check out our Easy Party Planner! This planner contains step-by-step guidance to help you plan and create an unforgettable party that your kiddo will love. It also includes 9 worksheets designed to help you get organized and feel in control of your event.

* Printable details:
13-page E-book on planning kids’ parties.
9 Pages of party planning worksheets and checklists
Just need the worksheets? You can buy them here: https://twitchetts.etsy.com/listing/529858939

Brainstorming the Perfect Party Theme

Party Themes. Everything can be pulled together with a fun party theme. They can be seasonal, character-based, colors, really anything goes. We talk a lot about how to brainstorm this if you are stuck in our ebook.

In each party we have listed below you can find fun activities, food, decorations, and more. Many can be “theme-swapped” so even if you’ve never watched Justin Time, maybe a stick horse would fit in a cowboy-themed party!

Kids' Birthday Party Inspiration

Minecraft

Start saving your cardboard boxes! We cut and painted tons of them for this epic Minecraft party!

Farm Animal

You don't have to spend a lot to have a cute farm animal theme!

TMNT

A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles party wouldn't be complete without some fun Ninja training!

PJ Masks

There are so many fun DIY projects to keep the budget low.... many that can be theme-swapped easily!

Princess

It's amazing how you can transform cardboard into you daughters perfect princess castle!!!

Party Planner

-Are you afraid you don’t have the time to create a party that your child will never forget?
-Would you be interested in a guide that walks you through the planning process so that you’re not scrambling to get organized?

* Printable details:

13 Page Ebook on planning kids parties.
9 Pages of party planning worksheets and checklists

Monster

When they are little there is no need to overdo it! Check out how a couple of little details can be enough for your little ones party!

Sports

Does your kid love ALL the sports? This fun party will be a hit!

Justin Time

Whether you have watched the Netflix show or not... This party was full of exciting activities!

Summer

The decor and drink station for our summer themed party could be used to brighten up any party!

Dragons

Picking a memorable activity, like a dragon race, can really take your party up a notch!

Pearls & Lace

A few little DIY projects to set up an elegant 1st birthday celebration.

Kids Party Theme Roundup

Still not set on a theme? Here is over 50 more ideas!!!

The post How to Throw a Successful Kids’ Birthday Party at Home! appeared first on Twitchetts.

25 Easy Thanksgiving class party ideas for kids (in-person and virtual)

Kate — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 10:00:18 +0000

Create memories with these Thanksgiving class party ideas. Whether you are celebrating in-person or virtually, there are some fun kids’ Thanksgiving party ideas to try!

Thanksgiving Class Party

Thanksgiving is a holiday that is celebrated across the United States.

It’s a great way to teach some American history in your classroom as well as a great time to have a fun classroom party.

These Thanksgiving Class Party ideas include classic pilgrims and Native American activities, fun ways to learn about Indigenous culture, and creative ways to teach about thankfulness.

We’ve created a list of creative activities, foods, crafts, and more that will help kids celebrate Thanksgiving.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

Don’t have time to enjoy these fun classroom party ideas now? Pin them for later!

If you’re currently in the planning phase of your classroom celebration, that’s ok! Pin this to your planning board. That way you’ll be able to grab all the fun when you’re ready!

Kids' Thanksgiving Party Ideas

These activities are a fun way to celebrate Thanksgiving with kids.

Thanksgiving classroom activities

These games, crafts, and activities are the perfect way to create memories during your Thanksgiving party.

9 easy Turkey Crafts

What is Thanksgiving without the turkey! These easy turkey crafts will give you lots of crafting ideas.

Create a Thankful Tree

Make or buy a fun tree. Then let your children write what they're thankful for on each leaf.

Thankful Photo Opp

Have each child write what they are thankful for and then take their picture to show their parents.

You could even do this activity virtually. Just send the pdf to your student to fill in and let them hold it up for the class to see.

Thanksgiving Turkey Play Dough

Photo Credit: www.fantasticfunandlearning.com

Create a turkey with playdough! This is a great fine motor skill-building activity. And could even be set up as a station.

Cranberry Oobleck

Photo Credit: littlebinsforlittlehands.com

Get all the senses involved with this exciting Oobleck activity.

The Gratitude Game

Photo Credit: teachbesideme.com

Turn gratitude into a game with this simple idea.

Have a dance party!

Photo Credit: www.prekinders.com

Choose from one of these Thanksgiving songs and get your classroom moving!

Thankful Book

Photo Credit: MelonheadzClipArt - Etsy

Younger Children: Draw pictures of what they are thankful for.

Older Kids: Write a paragraph or two about what you are thankful for.

Combine all the pages to create a book for your students.

OR! You can press the easy button and grab this printable instead!

Thanksgiving Turkey Battle

Photo Credit: PamsPartyPrintables - Etsy

Play a friendly game of Thanksgiving trivia!

Scattergories

Photo Credit: PamsPartyPrintables - Etsy

Perfect for older classrooms. This game uses either a large screen or can be done virtually!

Roll A Turkey Game

Photo Credit: MeckMom - Etsy

A fun way to sneak some math into your Thanksgiving party!

Classroom thanksgiving party food ideas

You can't have a party without food! These ideas are both big and small. But they are all tasty.

Thanksgiving Feast!

Have each child bring in their favorite Thanksgiving dish. Not only will it create a feast, but children will be able to explore dishes from various cultures.

Click "Read More" to get some fun recipe ideas!

Thanksgiving Placemats

Don't forget the placemats! Choose the placemat that fits your classroom.

Cheese, Cracker, and Fruit Turkey Snack

Photo Credit: www.hellowonderful.co

Create an adorable turkey out of snacks! Make a large platter, or let each child make their own turkey.

Turkey Cheese Ball

Photo Credit: www.inthekidskitchen.com

This cheeseball idea is so fun!

Turkey Donuts

Photo Credit: www.messylittlemonster.com

You know how much we love to sneak fine motor skills into crafts. This time you can sneak it into their party snack.

Rice Krispie Turkey Treats

Photo Credit: crayonsandcravings.com

Create little turnkeys with Rice Krispie treats!

Oreo Turkey Pops

Photo Credit: www.somewhatsimple.com

Everything is better on a stick!

Turkey in a Bag

Photo Credit: sweetmellyjane - Etsy

We just love it when you can combine snacks with creating!

Don't forget to grab the cute tag to put in the bag.

Turkey Candy Holder

Photo Credit: itsthesmallthings - Etsy

These treat holders are adorable! Let your kids take them home as party favors.

Thanksgiving Decorations

Get your classroom festive with these decoration ideas!

Pumpkin Suncatchers

Display these suncatchers in your windows.

Thanksgiving Garland

Photo Credit: PompadourAtelier - Etsy

This festive garland is perfect for decorating your classroom.

Thanksgiving Color Your Own Printable Banner

Photo Credit: MonkeySteps - Etsy

Let your kids get involved! Each child can color a letter in this Thanksgiving banner.

Pumpkin bulletin Board

Photo Credit: joanneEgreerstudios - Etsy

Decorate your bulletin board with pumpkins and pictures of your students.

Press the easy button by purchasing this entire bulletin board set!

Pilgrim Gnomes Thanksgiving Bulletin Board Kit

Photo Credit: CreativelyTaughtEtsy - Etsy

These Thanksgiving Gnomes are adorable!

Grab the printable kit to help you out!

More Thanksgiving Fun

Grab our Thanksgiving bundle for even more printable fun!

Other class party ideas

Check out these other class party ideas that you may enjoy!

• Red Day Celebration Ideas
• Blue Day Celebration Ideas
• Yellow Day Celebration Ideas

If you loved these Thanksgiving activities, share them by pinning or sharing them on Facebook.

This site wouldn’t be here without shares from people like you, and we are so thankful that you took the time to visit Twitchetts.

Know a friend who is looking for Thanksgiving class party ideas? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite board on Pinterest.

The post 25 Easy Thanksgiving class party ideas for kids (in-person and virtual) appeared first on Twitchetts.

Minecraft Sword ~ Minecraft Party Ideas

Kate — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 12:00:18 +0000

The Minecraft sword. The weapon of choice for Minecraft gamers. The item that stands out, from J’s Minecraft Birthday Party, was the sword. It was the grand prize of the amazing Minecraft Party Activity.Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. Thank you for supporting Twitchetts!

Does your gamer enjoy collecting all things Minecraft? We know ours does. We searched around for a Minecraft sword that any Minecraft player would love. Here are the fun swords we found.

The DIY Minecraft Sword

This DIY Minecraft sword from cardboard was created for the Minecraft party. Check out all the details here.

Looking for something a bit more sturdy than cardboard? Check out the wood Minecraft sword made at Crafting a Green WorldIf you want to go DIY on a smaller scale, how about creating with perler beads? Check out how we made custom designs here!Baking cookies? Make sword cookies with these cookie cutters from 3DKamotion!

Minecraft Party Ideas

These shirts from SewPerfectByCat, are too cute and perfect for a gamer’s birthday partyOr decorate the party with a fun standee by supercutecutouts.For loads more party ideas, check out all the details from J’s party here!

Minecraft Decor

Wooden Minecraft swords can be a beautiful addition, by FancyPantsToys.Loving these vinyl decals from ApareciumDesign Add a lovely quilt, from QuiltsbyBrandy, as a finishing touch!

Don’t forget to pin this to your Minecraft Pinterest board!

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Paper Football and Football Decorations for your Sports Party

Susie — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 19:07:39 +0000

We had so much fun at our sports party last year. The kids loved playing paper football so much that we decided to create a paper football game pack! The field goal posts were also a big hit so I’m sharing a little more details on how we created them. They make the perfect football centerpiece to add to your football party decorations!

Watch this short video to see just how easy these fun DIY field goal posts are to make! Add them to some colored rice and you have a great game day centerpiece!

Grab Your Printable Paper Football Pack Here

What you need for your DIY Goal Posts:

9 pop cycle sticks. 2 broken in half. You will have one half leftover.
Glue. We choose hot glue for speed.
Yellow Paint.
Paint Brush.

Watch The Video Above to see how to assemble your Field Goal Posts

DIY Colored Rice:

Rice. I measured mine out by filling my containers ahead of time.
Food Coloring. You can do this in any color you like. We choose green to match the grass.
Vinegar. Only a splash. Between 1tsp and 1tbsp.
A disposable baggie.
Cookie Sheet.
Parchment Paper.

Mix rice, coloring, and vinegar in your disposable baggie. Mix until the color is distributed evenly then pour out onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes. It should be completely dry to touch. Let cool slightly before removing from pan. This rice works great for these centerpieces, but is also great for sensory bins!

Printable Paper Football Game:

We decided to create a pack perfect for playing and decorating at your football-themed party. You will receive a 3 piece football field. Great for playing your paper football game or you can use it to decorate, it makes a great table runner. Next, there are helmets and jerseys to be designed. They can create them with their favorite team in mind or come up with a custom design of their own! You will also have a paper football template with folding instructions.

Click here to grab the printable pack!

This pack is perfect for any football-themed birthday party or Superbowl party!

The post Paper Football and Football Decorations for your Sports Party appeared first on Twitchetts.

13 PJ Masks birthday party ideas that will make your party amazing

Kate — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 23:03:41 +0000

Create the ultimate PJ Masks Birthday Party with these ideas! From making props and crafts to fun cakes and food! We had so much planning our PJ Masks Party for V’s third birthday that we wanted to brainstorm some more!Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.

Our kiddos still talk about the epic PJ Masks party that V had. There’s nothing more exciting than bringing their favorite show to life. Mr. Monster can still be seen running around the house in his Cat Boy costume. Every once in a while we still hear the phrase “remember at the PJ Masks party…” Creating this kind of party isn’t difficult. But it does take a little inspiration. So we’ve round up a few of our favorite PJ Masks ideas.

PJ Masks Birthday Party Activities

Create a fun city photo prop!
Bring the show to life with a fun PJ Mask Activity!
Play dress up with these fun masks! Buy yours here!
Or you can make your own PJ Masks costumes!

Delicious PJ Masks food

Make simple toppers for finger foods. Check out how we did it here.
Or you can purchase some great printables on Etsy!
We love this tower used on The Belle Vie

PJ Masks Party Decorations

We decorated with large PJ Mask symbols.
And you can’t forget about a PJ Masks Headquarters! Here is the tutorial on how we made ours. I love the backdrop used by Wear My Heart!

PJ Masks Birthday Party Favors and More!

These shirts make perfect party favors!
Or you could print some fun armbands. Check out how we made ours!
And you can’t forget about the invitations! You can purchase amazing PJ Masks Invitations on Etsy!

Enjoy your PJ Masks Birthday Party!

Don’t forget to pin this to your PJ Masks Birthday Party board!

The post 13 PJ Masks birthday party ideas that will make your party amazing appeared first on Twitchetts.

How to make DIY Minecraft Bricks out of Cardboard

Susie — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 01:37:15 +0000

If you know anything about the game of Minecraft you would know that it all starts with a single brick. The whole game is made of them. Making DIY Minecraft Bricks was a challenge, but I knew we needed them to bring the game to life.

What you need for you DIY Minecraft Bricks:

Cardboard.
Box cutter, with a good blade.
Graph paper.
Cardstock. Any color.
Ruler.
Exacto knife.
Pen or pencil.
Paint roller.
Square edged paintbrush.
Paints. All of the bricks have a few shades of gray. Then depending on the bricks you want you can add in more colors to your list. Diamond you need blues, gold yellows, etc.

Making your DIY Minecraft Bricks:

These can be cobblestone, gold, iron, coal, wood, or any other blocks.

***Disclaimer*** These were a labor of love, but they were great!!
To get this pixelated look I created a template using graph paper.

My blocks (cardboard squares) were 9″ x 9″ a piece. To translate to graph paper each inch square will be a pixel.
This was not a specific pattern, I just chose to do 4 shades of gray (cobblestone). As my base for all blocks.

Tape a piece of cardstock under your graph paper. Using your Xacto knife start cutting out all of your #1 squares.

Then remove the card stock and you have your first template.

Add a new piece of cardstock and cut out all of the #2s. Then your second template is finished.

etc.
You will end up with 4 templates.
Once you are done paint all of your blocks a solid dark gray.
Create a lighter gray by mixing in some white. Then lay down a template and paint.

Alternate templates and change colors of gray until your happy with your results.

I worked with one template for awhile until it was feeling flimsy from all of the paint. Then I would switch to another. Once the paint dried the template was stiff again and I could use for another shade of gray.

Once you have worked your way through all of the templates on each brick you could be done! If you wanted cobblestone.

But for our party needs, I needed specific bricks. For this, using a square edged brush, I added in a few pixels of yellow for gold, blue for diamond, black for coal, tans for iron, etc. Mix in different shades of each color to complete the effect.

These worked perfectly for pulling off our activity. The kids were tucking them under their arms as they walked out the door.

There is so much more fun at this party! Check out all the fun from our Minecraft Party.

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How to make a DIY Minecraft Pickaxe out of Cardboard

Susie — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 01:36:00 +0000

I had been very busy creating lots of props for J’s Minecraft party. I had this great idea to bring the game to life and I needed quite a few items to pull it off. I created these DIY Minecraft Pickaxes out of wood. It is one of the first items you can make in the game. They weren’t too hard to pull off and they definitely helped pull it all together!

What you need to make your own DIY Minecraft Pickaxes:

(click here to grab all of your supplies in one place!)

Cardboard.
Pen or marker.
Ruler.
Box cutter, with a fresh blade.
Brown paint. Also either black or white to make a second shade of brown.
Square edged paintbrush and a paint roller. The roller is optional but really speeds up the process.

Making your DIY Minecraft Pickaxes:

I did not have a foam pickaxe to copy so I used a picture from online and my sword edge to create the outline. Just think of pixels when you are making your design. Use a ruler to make all of the edges straight. Then cut out. Use your first pickaxe to trace the rest.

Time to get painting. We only painted these 2-toned. We were making them wooden for the activity. You could always add more detail or make them diamond or iron if you wanted to.

I made J do most of the work on these. We started by doing the whole base in 2 coats of brown. Then with the square edge brush added in a bit more detail. Add these into the mix of party favors and these boys were all in heaven!

Now, these details aren’t exact. I just freehanded on the darker brown. They did their job of pulling together the game.

Check out more fun from the Minecraft party!

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DiY MINECRAFT Torches

Susie — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 01:34:42 +0000

While a lot of the set up for this party was time-consuming. These DIY Minecraft Torches were not! They were my favorite thing that I made. I wish I had made enough that each kid could take home their own Minecraft Torch, but I didn’t have enough candles… I have actually made these a few times since!

In the game of Minecraft, one of the first things you need before it gets dark is to put up a few torches. These torches actually lit up enough to use them in our activity! They make great decorations as well as an excellent prop for a fun activity and another fun item that the kids could take home as a party favor.

What you need to make your own DIY Minecraft Torches:

(click here to grab all of your supplies in one place!)

Cardboard.
Box cutter.
Paint. Brown, Yellow, & White.
Square edged paintbrush.
Fake tealights.
Hot glue gun and glue.
Rubber bands.

Making your DIY Minecraft Torch:

Start with a 6″x 10″ piece of cardboard. A flap off of an Amazon box works great! Score every 1.5″ (cut but not all the way through)

Fold into shape then unfold again to paint.

You can paint these free hand using a square brush. They don’t need too much detail. Just give them a brown base coat. Then a few lighter and darker brown squares. Next, alternate shades of yellow along the tops. Make sure the top is a square shape.

Run a long bead of hot glue along the seam and attach quickly. Hot glue starts to dry fast.

Use a few rubber bands to secure together while they dry.

For the final touch add in a tealight. (a fake one)

They will fit snug, you will not need to attach them. This way you can take them in and out to turn the flame on and off.

I think Little Miss was trying to blow this one out.

If I could go back in time these would have been used to decorate my cake table and posted up on the walls. These kids loved to take them home.

Check out more fun from the Minecraft party

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How to make DIY Minecraft Swords from cardboard

Susie — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 21:55:33 +0000

Create amazing DIY Minecraft Swords with cardboard boxes. These make amazing Minecraft party decorations or party favors. They are perfect for make-believe play or to add the final touch to a Minecraft Halloween costume.

DIY Minecraft Swords

Do you have a Minecraft fan at home? They keep adding more and more to the game which is constantly sparking J’s interest.

I created these DIY Minecraft Swords for his Minecraft birthday party and they were a hit! I will not lie they were a labor of love. However, the excitement of the boys when I told them they got to keep it made it worth every minute!

Now, these DIY Minecraft swords can be used in so many ways. They could be used as decorations, gifts for the kids, or as part of an activity. We used them for all 3!

What you need to make your own cardboard Minecraft Swords:

Cardboard.
A foam Minecraft Sword.
A box cutter. (Make sure to have a fresh blade)
A marker.
Paints. Colors depend on what kind of swords you are making.
Square edge paintbrush.

How to make Minecraft swords:

Grab your box cutter, a fresh blade, and a marker.
Like most Minecraft lovers J had one of these foam swords that I traced. If you do not have a foam sword to trace you would have to work out a template sword. Since all of the lines are straight and work off of a standard square this is possible, time-consuming, but possible.

Cut out your sword, do it again, and again, and again… I mentioned in the first party post this was a labor of love!!

Time to start painting!! Choose what kind of Minecraft sword you want to make. Diamond, gold, iron, stone, or even wood!! Start with the middle color.

Using another sword as a guide, add your next layer. You are only painting single squares here so you don’t have to go to the edge.

Both sides.

Repeat this process for the outside edge.

Using the scraps and the other swords to help guide your painting will save you loads of time.

Make sure you have a square-edged paintbrush. It will make things a LOT less frustrating! You can pull up images online to help you with doing the handles. There are images everywhere!

Finish up by painting the rest of the handle brown. The kids loved their DIY Minecraft swords and it made a great party favor. I did a variety of sword types because I used them in our Minecraft party activity. You could easily do all diamond or all iron etc.

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Justin Time Birthday Party ~ Mr. Monster’s Third Birthday

Kate — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 11:19:32 +0000

For three months I have been mentally planning a fabulous pirates party. It was going to include an amazing cardboard pirate ship that rivaled the pink castle from Little Miss’ party last year. Two weeks before the party, Mr. Monster informed me…very adamantly I might add, that he no longer wanted a pirate party. He wanted a Justin Time birthday party.

I have to say, this boy is lucky his mommy is a procrastinator. Because even thought I had it all planned out in my head, I hadn’t started actually making or buying anything for the pirate party. So he was in luck…a Justin time party it would be.

I only had a couple of weeks to figure this party out, so I started with my beginning brainstorming session and then went on to Pinterest for more inspiration. Do you know how many pins there are currently on Pinterest for a Justin Time party? About 5…And they are mostly cakes.

OK…plan B. Let’s watch the show. The show is about a little boy named Justin. Justin has an imaginary friend named Squidgy…who from what I can tell is made of yellow playdough. As Justin is going about his day, he runs into a problem, (a preschool age problem) and using his imagination, Justin and Squidgy travel to a different time and or place. Once they are there, they find their other friend, Olive, who joins them on an adventure that eventually helps Justin solve his real world problem.

Also, the theme song has a lot of arrows…

Justin Time Birthday Party Food Table

So I used the arrows to decorate the food table.

To make the arrows as big as I wanted, I went to my go-to party supply. Plastic table clothes. Seriously, these things are amazing for decorating a party. Plus they’re cheap. But not too cheap, spring for the 1.99 ones, they will hold up much better, and cut smoother than the $1.00 versions.

I taped a blue table cloth from the ceiling to the top of the table. Then cut 3 arrows to tape onto the blue.

Since the party was at 2:00, I didn’t need to have a whole lunch spread. Instead, I chose some snacks that I knew a room full of preschoolers would enjoy. Fruit and cheese.

I used Susie’s tip from V’s PJ Masks party and created some simple skewer toppers and lovingly named them all Squidgy Snacks.

The cake was a simple white frosting with character cutouts that I glued to a couple of skewers. Probably the easiest cake I’ve made yet.

Create a Squidgy

Squidgy is a very memorable character on the show, and you can’t have a Justin Time birthday party without him. The first idea that came to my head was to give all the kids a container of yellow play doh. As the kids arrived, we let them use their play doh to create their own Squidgy’s.

It was the perfect opening activity.

The kids sat next to a banner of Squidgies so that the little ones who had not watched the show could have a bit of inspiration.

Once everyone arrived, we headed outside for our Justin Time Party activity. Check out all the fun details here!

I have to admit. When Mr. Monster said that he wanted a Justin Time birthday party, I was not very excited. Being a blogger, I wanted the party to be something that more kids knew. But as I was planning and creating I became more and more excited. And the look on my little one’s faces showed that I need to remember, their party is more than just a blog post. It’s a day of memories. And this party more than delivered those.

Check out all of the Justin Time Party Details Here!

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